The US Air Force's newest Eagle has a blind spot, and the service has just admitted it in writing. On 29 September the F-15 programme office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base published a sources-sought notice asking industry for a missile launch and approach warning system for the F-15EX Eagle II. The jet was designed with places to mount one. The Air Force simply never bought it.
The timing is no coincidence. In April, an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, reportedly by a heat-seeking missile, and both crew members had to be rescued in a dramatic special operations mission. Heat-seekers do not emit radar signals, so a radar warning receiver cannot see them coming.
Datos rápidos
- Aeronave: Boeing F-15EX Eagle II
- Notice: Sources sought (market research, not a contract)
- Emitido: 29 September 2026, F-15 programme office, Wright-Patterson AFB
- Responses due: 12 November 2026
- Sought: Operationally qualified missile launch and approach warning system
- Integration: Six existing sensor locations, existing wiring and cooling, MIL-STD-1553 data bus
- Current suite: BAE Systems EPAWSS electronic warfare system
Built For It, Bought Without It
The F-15EX already carries one of the most advanced electronic warfare suites on any fighter, BAE Systems' Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS. It warns the crew of radar threats, jams them and controls chaff and flares. What it is not designed to do is spot a missile guided by infrared, which homes on engine heat without ever lighting up the jet with radar.
That is the job of a missile warning system, or MWS, which uses ultraviolet or infrared sensors to detect the flash and plume of a launching missile. According to the notice, the F-15EX already has six sensor locations, wiring, power and cooling provisions for exactly such a system. The Air Force wants something that plugs into those positions, connects to the jet's MIL-STD-1553 data bus and mission computer, and is already qualified on other US military aircraft.
The Lesson of Dude 44
The F-15E lost over Iran in April, call sign Dude 44, is the uncomfortable backdrop. TWZ reports the Strike Eagle had no dedicated missile warning system and that its defensive suite reportedly gave only a fraction of a second of warning. The crew ejected and both airmen were later recovered in a massive combat search and rescue operation.
Fighters flying low or in contested airspace face shoulder-fired missiles and infrared-guided surface-to-air systems that never need to switch on a radar. A dedicated warner can give the crew the extra seconds to dispense flares or manoeuvre, which is often the difference between a near miss and an ejection.
Off-the-Shelf Options
Because the Air Force insists on a system that is already operationally qualified, candidates are likely to be existing designs. TWZ points to BAE Systems' AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System, widely used on US Army helicopters such as the AH-64, UH-60 and CH-47, and fitted to export Eagles according to the outlet.
A sources-sought notice is only market research. The Air Force says it has made no commitment to buy anything, and responses are due by 12 November 2026. But it is a clear sign that the service now sees infrared missile warning as essential for a frontline fighter, not an optional extra.
F-15 pilots discuss the F-15EX's EPAWSS self-protection suite, the radar-focused system that a new missile warner would complement.
Sources: TWZ, Defence Blog, Aviation Week, Air & Space Forces Magazine
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